Title 16, Title 16: Education

§ 2879d. Property rights to assets in the Plan The assets of the Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan shall at all times be held in trust for the benefit of the participant, shall not be commingled with any other funds of the Corporation or the State, shall be preserved, inve…

§ 2879e. Construction and application This subchapter shall be construed liberally in order to effectuate its legislative intent. The purposes of this subchapter and all provisions of this subchapter with respect to powers granted shall be broadly interpreted to effectuate such i…

§ 2879f. Annual reports The Corporation shall review, on an annual basis, the financial status of the Program and the participation rate in the Program. The Corporation shall also review the continued viability of the Program and the administration of the Program by the Corporati…

§ 2880. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Approved postsecondary education institution” means any institution of postsecondary education that is: (A) certified by the State Board of Education as provided in section 176 or 176a of this title; (B) accredited by an accred…

§ 2880a. Vermont Universal Children’s Higher Education Savings Account Program established; powers and duties of the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (a) It is the policy of the State to expand educational opportunity for all children. Consistent with this policy, the Vermo…

§ 2880b. Vermont Universal Children’s Higher Education Savings Account Program Fund (a) The Vermont Universal Children’s Higher Education Savings Account Program Fund is established as a fund to be held, directed, and administered by the Corporation. The Corporation shall invest …

§ 2880c. Initial deposits to the Program Fund (a) Each year, the Corporation shall deposit $250.00 into the Program Fund for each eligible child born that year, beginning on or after January 1, 2016. (b) In addition, if the eligible child has a family income of less than 250 perc…

§ 2880d. Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan accounts; matching allocations for families with limited income (a) The Corporation shall invite the parents or legal guardians of each Program beneficiary to open a Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan account on the benefici…

§ 2880e. Withdrawal of Program funds (a) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Investment Plan requirements under subchapter 7 of this chapter, and the rules, policies, and procedures adopted by the Corporation, a Program beneficiary shall be entitled to Program funds de…

§ 2880f. Rights of beneficiaries and their families (a) A parent or legal guardian shall be allowed to opt out of the Program on behalf of his or her child. (b) An individual otherwise eligible for any benefit program for elders, persons who are disabled, families, or children sh…

§ 2880g. Financial literacy programs State agencies and offices, including the Agencies of Education and of Human Services and the Office of the State Treasurer, in collaboration with existing statewide community partners and nonprofit partners that specialize in financial educat…

§ 2880h. Program Fund Advisory Committee (a) There is created a Vermont Universal Children’s Higher Education Savings Account Program Fund Advisory Committee to identify and solicit public and private funds for the Program and to advise the Corporation on disbursement of funds. (…

§ 2881. Vermont Higher Education Council; designation The Vermont Higher Education Council is hereby designated as the Vermont state postsecondary review entity for the purpose of reviewing all institutions of higher education that are eligible or which desire to become eligible …

§ 2882. Vermont state postsecondary review entity; powers and duties (a) The Vermont state postsecondary review entity shall review institutions of higher education in accordance with standards established in 20 U.S.C. § 1099a-3 and with standards established by the Vermont state…

§ 2885. Vermont Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund (a) A Vermont Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund is established in the Office of the State Treasurer to comprise the following: (1) appropriations made by the General Assembly; (2) in any fiscal year in which a General Fund…

§ 2887. The Next Generation Initiative Fund (a) A Next Generation Initiative Fund is established in the Office of the State Treasurer to comprise appropriations made by the General Assembly and grants, donations, or contributions from any other sources. The Fund shall be administ…

§ 2888. Vermont Strong Scholars Initiative (a) Creation. (1) There is created a postsecondary loan forgiveness initiative designed to forgive a portion of Vermont Student Assistance Corporation loans of students employed in occupations identified as important to Vermont’s economy…

§ 2901. Success for all students in the general education environment (a) Each local school district shall develop and maintain, in consultation with parents, a comprehensive system of education that is designed to result, to the extent appropriate, in all students succeeding in …

§ 2902. Tiered system of supports and educational support team (a) Within each school district’s comprehensive system of educational services, each public school shall develop and maintain a tiered system of academic and behavioral supports for the purpose of providing all studen…

§ 2903. Foundation for literacy (a) Statement of policy. The ability to read is critical to success in learning. Children who fail to read by the end of the first grade will likely fall further behind in school. The personal and economic costs of reading failure are enormous both…

§ 2904. Reports Annually, each superintendent shall report to the Secretary in a form prescribed by the Secretary, on the status of the educational support systems in each school in the supervisory union. The report shall describe the services and supports that are a part of the …

§ 2906. Vermont Expanded Learning Opportunities Special Fund established (a) As used in this section, “Expanded Learning Opportunity” means a structured program designed to serve prekindergarten through secondary school-age children and youth outside the school day and year on a …

§ 2907. Kindergarten through grade-three reading assessment and intervention (a) The Agency of Education shall review and publish guidance on universal reading screeners based on established criteria that are based on technical adequacy, attention to linguistic diversity, adminis…

§ 2941. Policy and purpose It is the policy of the State to ensure equal educational opportunities for all children in Vermont. This means that children with disabilities are entitled to receive a free appropriate public education. The purpose of this chapter is to enable the Age…

§ 2942. Definitions As used in this chapter (1) “Child with a disability” means any child in Vermont eligible under State rules to receive special education. (2) “Special education” means, to the extent required by federal law, specially designed instruction, at no cost to parent…

§ 2943. Secretary of Education for children with disabilities; powers The Secretary of Education, by virtue of the office, shall be Secretary of Education for children with disabilities and shall superintend all matters relating to the essential early education and special educat…

§ 2944. Special education (a)-(c) [Repealed.] (d) The Secretary with the advice of the State Board may make grants for programs and may make grants, subject to conditions the Secretary shall establish, to persons whom he or she finds qualified for either part-time or full-time st…

§ 2945. State Advisory Panel on Special Education (a) The State Advisory Panel on Special Education (Panel) is created to provide guidance with respect to special education and related services for children with disabilities in the State. Members of the Panel shall be appointed b…

§ 2948. State aid (a) For the payment of general State aid, children with disabilities shall be counted in the same manner as children who do not have disabilities. (b) [Repealed.] (c) Each supervisory union shall receive an essential early education grant each school year. Grant…

§ 2949. Reciprocal agreements with other states The State Board of Education, with the approval of the Attorney General, is authorized to enter into reciprocal agreements with the boards of education in other states to share in the expense of securing the services of specialists …

§ 2950. State-placed students (a) Supervisory union reimbursement. The supervisory union in which there is a school district responsible for educating a State-placed student under section 1075 of this title may claim and the Secretary shall reimburse 100 percent of all special ed…

§ 2955. Confidential information Nothing in 12 V.S.A. § 1612(a) shall apply to this chapter. (Added 1981, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)

§ 2956. Essential early education After June 30, 1991, all eligible children with disabilities three through five years of age shall have access to appropriate essential early education services. (Added 1987, No. 68, § 4; amended 1989, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 1995, No. 157 (A…

§ 2957. Special education administrative and judicial appeals; limitations (a) An action against a local, intermediate, or State education agency seeking enforcement of special education rights under State or federal law shall be commenced by an administrative due process hearing…

§ 2958. Residential Placement Review Team; residential placements (a) A supervisory union shall notify the parents and the Secretary when it believes residential placement is a possible option for inclusion in a child’s individualized education program. (b) The Secretary may esta…

§ 2959. Rulemaking; mediation (a) The State Board shall adopt rules governing the determination of a child’s eligibility for special education, accounting and financial reporting standards, program requirements, procedural requirements, and the identification of the supervisory u…

§ 2959a. Education Medicaid receipts (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the State of Vermont shall maximize its receipt of federal Medicaid dollars available for reimbursement of medically related services provided to students who are Medicaid eligible. It is furth…

§ 2959b. Individualized education programs A school district or supervisory union responsible for developing an individualized education program for a child with a disability may consider the cost of the provision of special education or related services to the child if: (1) the …

§ 2961. Census grant [Contingently repealed effective July 1, 2028] (Added 1987, No. 235 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; amended 1989, No. 230 (Adj. Sess.), § 15, eff. July 1, 1991; 1995, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; 1997, No. 60, §§ 30, 30a, eff. July 1, 1998; 2003, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 6;…

§ 2962. Extraordinary special education reimbursement (a)(1) As used in this section, “child” means a student with disabilities who is three years of age or older in the current school year. (2) As used in this subchapter, “extraordinary expenditures” means a supervisory union’s …

§ 2965. Withholding of aid If a supervisory union, school district, or agency fails to meet its legally established obligations toward a child with a disability or the child’s parent, and as a result the Agency of Education incurs costs to meet these obligations beyond those othe…

§ 2967. Aid projection (a) On or before December 15, the Secretary shall publish an estimate, by each supervisory union, of its anticipated State special education funding under this chapter for the ensuing school year. (b) As used in this section, State special education funding…

§ 2969. Payments (a)(1) On or before August 15, December 15, and April 15 of each fiscal year, the State Treasurer shall withdraw from the Education Fund, based on a warrant issued by the Commissioner of Finance and Management, and shall forward to each supervisory union one-thir…

§ 2973. Independent school tuition rates (a)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an approved independent school that accepts public tuition shall enroll any student with an individualized education program who requires special education services and who is pl…

§ 2973a. Special education; best practices; policy It is the public policy of the State that integrated special education services are recognized as an essential responsibility of the educational system that benefits all students and contribute to the good of the State. This sect…

§ 2974. Special education program; fiscal review Annually, the Secretary shall report to the State Board regarding: (1) the total amount of census grants made to supervisory unions under section 2961 of this title; (2) the total amount of extraordinary special education reimburse…